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With the economy being what it is, it’s no surprise that people are hunting for savings wherever they can—including when it comes to bigger-ticket expenses like travel.
For those not looking to drop hundreds (or thousands) on a domestic flight, one content creator recently went viral for sharing a tip to stretch your travel dollar—even if it’s a “hack” airlines absolutely hate.
In a recent TikTok video, Catherine Slack (@catherineslack) said a flight from her current city to Atlanta would’ve cost $500. But by using a trick called skiplagging, she said she could get there for just $100.
“How is that legal?” she asked in the video.
What’s skiplagging?
Skiplagging seems simple enough: Travelers book a flight with a layover but don’t intend to complete the full journey. Instead, they exit at the layover city, which is actually their intended destination.
In Slack’s case, she found a flight with a layover in Atlanta that cost much less than a direct flight to the city. The reason this works is that airlines often offer cheaper fares on longer routes with layovers compared to direct flights.
However, Slack said she wouldn’t use skiplagging for her upcoming trip to Atlanta. The catch? She has a carry-on bag. Skiplagging isn’t practical with luggage because any checked bags will continue to the final destination, not the layover.
“I would so book it, but I have to check a bag,” she explained.
What’s the catch?
As some commenters pointed out on Slack’s video, skiplagging is all fun and games until it isn’t. One viewer wisely noted that it could get you into hot water with certain airlines, especially if you have “status” with them.
For instance, Delta confirmed to us that it prohibits practices like point-beyond ticketing—where you book a flight to a farther destination just to get off at the layover spot, back-to-back ticketing (using overlapping round-trip tickets to bypass requirements), and throw-away ticketing, which involves using discounted round-trip fares for one-way trips.
The issue airlines have with skiplagging boils down to pricing algorithms and capacity planning. When too many people use this tactic, it messes with their ability to accurately predict and manage seat availability.
Simply put, they don’t like it when it looks like planes are fuller than they really are.
A few other travelers also warned that if you intentionally skiplag, airlines might cancel your return ticket. So, if you’re thinking about pulling off this money-saving move, just be aware of the potential consequences.
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